The Nintendo Virtual Boy is a gaming system with a bit of a slipshod
reputation, but that's not the device's fault: it's not a bad piece of
hardware! As such, a community of fans and supporters sprung up around the
system and made its home at Planet
Virtual Boy. Unsurprisngly, I'm one of 'em! The community is relatively
small, as would be expected, but the density of technical knowledge among its
members is mind-bogglingly high, so of course it's a place I feel right at
home.

Recently, the topic came up that a good, fast Virtual Boy emulator
still doesn't exist for Nintendo 3DS--one that also leverages the
capabilities of the hardware. The 3DS nearing the end of its life, and a
Virtual Boy emulator on the handheld is long overdue. The sentiment was met
with many yeas, and even willingness to fund a "VB on 3DS" project if only
one existed. The timing couldn't have been better, since I'm in a
transitional period in my life right now and the thought of making an
emulator as my actual job was too good to pass up, so I volunteered
on the spot.

All that leads us here, to this website. It's a portal and repository for all
things related to the project. However, in order for the initiative to
succeed, I will need to ask for the generosity and support of the gaming
community at large to cover my expenses. If you believe in the cause, please
consider donating.

Project Goals

The initiative has four primary objectives:

Nintendo 3DS Emulator

I'm sure most of us thought about Virtual Boy when we first heard about
the Nintendo 3DS. A custom emulator specifically designed to run on 3DS
can take full advantage of the system's power and capabilities, giving us
true stereo Virtual Boy on the go.

Reverse Engineering

Any time we want to learn about how a game works or make changes to it,
we need the right tools to dig in and take a look around. A
cross-platform desktop application is just the ticket for providing the
user with the right kit to expose all the deepest secrets buried within
Virtual Boy software.

TAS

The tool-assisted speedrun is a cornerstone of video game culture, and
like reverse engineering, we need the right tools at our disposal in
order to get the job done right. The aforementioned desktop application
pulls double duty by bringing TAS-focused utilities to the party.

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation of the Virtual Boy's internals will come from
emulator research, and it's a perfect way for homebrew authors and
modders to learn about the system's features. Those who remember the
Sacred Tech Scroll document I wrote can look
forward to a brand new version of it.

Why do this? What's worth the effort? I want to increase exposure for Virtual
Boy, sure, but I also want to make a contribution to the emulation community.
I want to demonstrate that with the right support and expertise, things can
come into existence that are above and beyond the traditional expectations
for emulators.

What Next?

Is this Guy Perfect character even proficient enough to make an emulator in
the first place? Truth to tell, it was actually already in development before
this all started, so that's good! Take a look at the
Resources page, where you can find up-to-date
builds of the project files, all of its source code, and even lengthy
technical pages describing different facets of the project.

As excited as I am to do this, the fact remains that it won't be able to
happen without the awesomeness of the gaming community helping to fund the
cause. Again, if you have some change to spare and feel like this project is
a good use for it, then please consider donating.